KARNS CITY — Broadcast radio has been around for nearly 100 years, and one man's museum shows the evolution of radio.

Mel Check, a broadcast engineer in Karns City, did not know what his plans were after high school, but his parents did. Check's love for radio came after his parents signed him up to attend Allegheny Technical Institute.

For 34 years, Check was the chief engineer at KDKA. Before that he worked at Clarion University.

“I worked at Clarion and built their radio station,” Check said.

With KDKA, Check's job was to install equipment for the company.

“I love what I do,” Check said. That is apparent when you step into his garage, which he has turned into a radio museum.

“When I started, it was the fun of the hunt,” Check said.

That hunt has netted him more than 1,200 radios. Check says some of his radios are prizes but some are trashy.

“I don't sell radios,” Check said. “I strictly collect.”

Along with radios, Check has a collection of old microphones, which are still used by some broadcasters.

His garage is filled with everything from novelty radios to ones that predate the 1920s. The radios are not displayed in any particular order, but Check knows their age by their tubes and serial number.

“There were 5,000 or so producers of radios in its heyday,” Check said.

He has radios made by Westinghouse, Zenith, Freshman and others.

“The Zenith transoceanic radios were most popular during World War II,” Check said. “Freshman was the Cadillac of its day.”

In the early 1920s, radios were more expensive than cars, with new radios costing $225. But that was just for the radio itself; speakers and the radio tubes were sold separately. All together a new radio with everything could cost $300 to $400.

Check also has many transistor radios and, he adds, “You can't get a transistor radio for under $10 anymore.”

Check says a number of his radios work, but that does not really matter because he cannot get a radio signal.

“I own a radio museum, but I can't pick up any radio stations here,” Check said.

He also has radios that do not work anymore, but he could fix.

“I am capable of fixing anything. I just don't have the time,” Check said.

On the side, Check also sets up broadcast equipment for sporting events, a job that his daughter, Cindy Boyden, does full time.

She is a broadcast engineer who received most of her training from her father but has a degree from the Cleveland Institute of Technology.

“This year is my first full year handling everything,” Boyden said.

Part of her job is to set up the broadcast equipment for the announcers of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Penguins.

“We get to meet a lot of really cool people, but we are there to do a job,” Boyden said.

They also set up the equipment for announcers traveling with opposing teams.

“We supply equipment for out of town announcers,” Check said.

Mel's two sons, Brian and Doran Check, also have gone into broadcasting.

“My brother, Doran, has a contract with Macy's and covers their sound for their fashion shows.” Boyden said.

“Brian works for KDKA TV, and does installation of audio and video lines.”

He also does a lot of computer work.

While semi-retired, Check still travels with the Pittsburgh Panthers to set up their broadcast equipment.

WHAT: Free tours of a museum with 1,200 radiosWHERE: The home of Mel Check in Karns City. Call 724-526-5202 for directions and museum informationWHEN: From 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays, May through October